024: Christopher Penn – No Child Will Ever Ask You

“No child will ever ask you to read them a press release at bedtime. They want you to tell them a story. So do your customers.” – Christopher S. Penn, Shift Communications

This was drawn by A.Kelly. Check out his awesome work at his blog.

The quote comes from Christopher S. Penn in an article he wrote for Shift Communications. His idea is brilliant, and his article also makes the case that storytelling can also be used for B2B sales communication as well. It’s a short read loaded with food for though, so do look at it for yourself. Penn is an expert in digital marketing, especially true since he is the VP of marketing for Shift Communications, so I’d listen if he speaks.

As for the quote, storytelling as an influence technique is widely regarded to be true. There even is science to back it up. Some people have described it as the “ultimate weapon”. You probably have seen it used by branding commercials, to charities, to politicians. You might even have used it before. Stories activate our imagination, and make us see possibilities that may not have existed, and would not exist if the story was never told.

I think the greater issue now is how and when do you tell the stories. Just because you use storytelling doesn’t mean that people will be influenced by you. Bad storytelling can leave a bad taste. We need to aim for, not just good storytelling, but for powerful storytelling; storytelling that can stir a person from within. While not every story will have big effect, even a small effect on a person can lead them to start seeing things from your point of view. Here at Rational Comics, not every comic will cause a large emotional outburst from reading our comics. However, we strive to at least give you the reader food for thought, enough so that you will think twice about the subject at hand.

Let me know if the quote and what I wrote in the description makes sense to you in the comments below. Or let me know how your style of storytelling goes.